MLS expansion remains priority with Minneapolis apparently on board

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Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber, seen in April 2014 during a a news conference announcing Atlanta will be getting an MLS expansion team, could be expanding the league even more. (David Goldman/The Associated Press)

When Major League Soccer all but confirmed this week that Minneapolis will become home to the next expansion team, the even bigger news offered almost as an afterthought was that officials will study this year growing to more than 24 clubs.

That’s because a Minnesota franchise would become the 23rd in MLS, with new clubs in Los Angeles and Atlanta scheduled to join the fray in 2017.

And as MLS officials observed Monday, other cities still in play include Sacramento, St. Louis and San Antonio. Conspicuous by its absence from the list was Miami, where David Beckham has so far been unable to find a suitable stadium site acceptable to MLS and local politicians.

Still, if they all came to fruition, that quartet of expansion markets would give MLS 29 clubs, one fewer than the NHL.

In the past, MLS Commissioner Don Garber has said 30 teams is too many.

But MLS has already bounded beyond the 20-team limit FIFA recommends as an apt league size to keep the number of games down to manageable levels. Now it appears the self-imposed 24-team limit may also be in jeopardy.

This is heady stuff for a league that abandoned two Florida outposts in 2002 while contracting to a mere 10 teams.

But just two weeks into its 20th season, MLS is showing signs of unprecedented growth.

A crowd of 43,507 watched New York City FC’s home opener last weekend at Yankee Stadium, a week after 62,510 crowded into the Citrus Bowl for Orlando City’s inaugural game.

It’s television that brings in the big money and unprecedented visibility for what remains a niche league, of course.

The dilemma for MLS is to gain a big enough footprint for the sport to reach a critical mass, while not recklessly expanding just for the sake of doing so as wealthy owners continue to underwrite tens of millions in annual losses.

MLS will make a formal announcement about expansion to Minneapolis within 45 days before presumably pausing temporarily to digest.

“Expansion continues to be a priority for Major League Soccer,” officials said Monday, implying that they’re not done yet.

The Galaxy will attempt to extend their unbeaten streak to three at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Carson against the 1-1-0 Houston Dynamo, who didn’t look particularly dangerous last weekend in a 1-0 loss to Orlando. The Galaxy are unbeaten at home in their past 20 games.

The Galaxy II open their USL campaign at 5 p.m. Sunday in the track and field stadium at StubHub Center against Real Monarchs SLC. There’s free parking and kids 12 and under get in free.

Veteran journalist Nick Green is the beat reporter for the cities of Torrance, Carson and Lomita and also covers the South Bay's rapidly growing craft beer industry for the Daily Breeze. He has worked for newspapers on the West Coast since graduating in 1987 from the University of Washington and lives in Old Torrance with his wife and two cats. Follow him on Twitter @NickGreen007 and @BeerGogglesLA.